Johnny Depp, Who Are You? (Part 3, Final)

These two films are very interesting to use in order to analyze Johnny Depp performance because many critics have been making the connection of resemblance between the character Edward Scissorhands and Peter Pan. Both of them were stuck in their boyhood, not wanting to grow up. Not only the characters human behavior, but there are also similarities in regards of their story line. In an article written in Seattle Times, it said “that of an enchanted nostalgic fable, told by an old woman who remembers the hero just as Wendy remembers Peter Pan–not as a tragic figure, but as a lost boy who found his own reason for being” (Hartl, 1990). Although this comment was made even before Johnny Depp filmed Finding Neverland, but the fact that comment point out the resemblance makes it even more interesting. As an actor, Johnny Depp was famous because of he always try to challenges himself in the role, yet now has been caught in the trance of typecasting. This can be reflected from many of his collaboration with Tim Burton, movies like ‘Charlie in the Chocolate Factory, Alice in the Wonderland, Dark Shadow’, and even other non-Tim Burton’s film, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lone Ranger. For few movie critiques, 2004 was the last era of the interesting, daring, and unique Johnny Depp. His strong performance connection with Tim Burton is so well built that once a Tim Burton’s film is out, people can subconsciously assume that Johnny Depp is part of the cast. It is also known as the star vehicle; it is when the film is “specifically tailored to showcase the talents of a performer”. Many of Johnny’s movies are tailored to showcase his talents, but at the same time it exploits the uniqueness out of him. In an article written by Kyle Buchannan, it says that “with each big-budget part, Depp will employ a new voice, a new hat, and some new face paint, but the more Depp labors to make himself unrecognizable, the more we recognize the tricks he uses to do so”. Johnny Depp’s performance traits have a greater impact towards the audience comparing to his persona, that it has become a persona on its own.

In recent years, Depp persona has changed drastically. His weirdness has become too normal for viewers that it no longer shows his acting ability. What once was a serious actor that dares himself to play a quirky and eccentric characters, have become the other way around. Johnny Depp was able to captured attention of the viewer through his seamlessly transformation. Since his hiatus, his performance was always being compared to his older film. His performance as Edward Scissorhands gave a lot of impacts that until now people wish for the Johnny, who played Edward Scissorhands to come back (Jacobs, 2013). It was seen that he was deeply connected to his characters to a point where it becomes part of his identity, his star persona. A persona in which it consist being dark, mysterious, childlike, quirky, innocence, and strange.

Conclusion

Actors and film are a big part of the entertainment industries. Some people seek leisure and enjoy the storyline while they are watching a movie. But there are some that watch the movie based on the actor that is being cast. Johnny Depp is one of the many actor that attracts million and million of fans. His performance has amazed viewers, and they just could not get enough. It is part of his star persona to be serious actor that constantly takes on challenging role. Although it is what seems like, many of his roles take on similar character traits. The traits includes of being innocence and a childlike representation. Also, the fact that many of his roles are fictional characters makes it even less impressing. His performance in this type of characters has become a persona on its own. Thus it put major impact on all of his film performance and public representation.